(Anita Gates’s article appeared in The New York Times, 10/14.)
The young guy is in a hoodie, the old guy a sweater vest and the middle-aged guy in a casual-Friday ensemble with a sloppily loosened tie. In the Irish Repertory Theater’s solid production of “Port Authority,” it’s not surprising that the men never talk to one another. Structurally, that’s because Conor McPherson wrote the play as a series of three monologues, alternating over 90 minutes. But socially and psychologically, these three men wouldn’t be interested in what the others had to say.
Kevin (James Russell) is all nervous energy, living away from his parents for the first time, sharing a house with friends and falling in love with a young woman he’s afraid to pursue. Dermot (Billy Carter), who seems to get his energy from alcohol, can’t believe his good luck, a fantastic job offer way above his qualifications — and then he learns the horrible truth. Joe (Peter Maloney) lives in a retirement home and doesn’t have much need for energy until he receives a mysterious package from a long-ago neighbor. Its arrival is part of one of those “I never told her” stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/theater/conor-mcphersons-port-authority.html?_r=0